Preview - Cambodia vs Timor Leste

23-Oct-2010

VIENTIANE: Cambodia coach Lee Tae-hoon is expecting an improved performance from his side when they face Timor Leste on Sunday in their second game of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 qualifying competition.

The Cambodians did little to hurt their chances of advancing to the group stage of the competition with a hard-fought goalless draw against hosts Laos in their opening match at the National Sports Complex in Vientiane on Friday.

But with Philippines trouncing the Timorese 5-0 in their opener, Lee knows that his side must get a positive result against the competition's perceived minnows if they hope to secure one of the two available berths in the next round.

"I was satisfied with our result against Laos but I know that my team can do better than that," said the Korean, who took charge of Cambodia just two months ago.

"We have learnt some things about our team from that game and hopefully we can use that to our advantage in our next match.

"I am confident that we can get a win against Timor Leste."

The Cambodians recorded their biggest win in the AFF Suzuki Cup with a 4-1 victory against the Timorese in the qualifying round for the 2007 competition. But they are also the only side to have dropped points against them after a 2-2 draw in the 2008 qualifiers in Phnom Penh.

With their heavy defeat against the Filipinos on Friday, Timor Leste have now lost 12 of the 13 games that they have played in the AFF Suzuki Cup.

But coach Pedro Correia De Almeida has insisted that his side will continue to work hard to get a result.

"Although we had little time to prepare for this competition and not all of our players were feeling 100 per cent fit for our opening game, it was still disappointing to lose by so many goals against the Philippines," said De Almeida.

"But that game is over now and we must now focus on our next match against Cambodia.

"We have to work more on the physical aspect of our game if we hope to get a result but we will be trying very hard to win the match."